Count Up to 60

The Six-O. It is a milestone we’ve already celebrated for my husband and two of my sisters over the last few years. Some of my closest friends have already crossed this threshold and they are brilliant, vibrant, still living people. Sixty looks good based on those people. They are each living an ever-increasingly vibrant life — clearer, wiser, more generous, more purposeful.

That’s the goal, isn’t it? Progress.

So, turning 60 is exciting, right? Freedom rings. The mere fact that I’m saying it out loud is enormous progress and a possible indicator of the healthiest version of me. Because this adulting has been a journey, and the lessons are thrilling (especially considering I’m still alive after all those messes). Which reminds me, shouldn’t I have that 1973 Mercedes coupe by now? Never mind. That part is a blur.

In fact, it’s boggling to realize that since my 50^th birthday we’ve moved from Michigan to Manhattan Beach California, to Lake Oswego Oregon and now to Nashville Tennessee. (Note: we’re done moving.) I’ve moved my career around a bit too, seizing opportunities and working with so many brilliant people. Through each of those moves my kids’ lives, our marriage, our friendships were shaped in mesmerizing ways and somehow it all fit in one decade. 

To be honest, I imagined having at least one of my current manuscripts completed and ready to submit for rejection by now. These two books have matured a lot, though. That’s probably why they’re not finished yet; they’re still aging! And they’ve both provided a marvelous process of continued growth for my soul, whether or not they ever leave my hands. Perhaps they’ll also give my children a view of their own way-way back stories; stories of their great grandparents that create the true textures of our life today and are far too grand to let fade. Most certainly we can form a healthier narrative for ourselves by digging a little deeper into who these people were. 

These are the stories of our grandparents that help us see our own lives differently and can open our minds to more adventure. These lives were filled with bravery, enterprise, and risk and of course scandal. It’s enormous fun to see their footsteps through time, painting a picture that feels glamorous and romantic. But when we attach our own life to those lives, they become formative.

And since pretty much everything I do from this point on is for my children, I’ll work on getting those pesky books finished.

So, as we march onward, through the chaos and blessings, it’s marvelous to reflect today on the friends who’ve stuck with us, the new ones who’ve brought great fun, and mostly … family. My family is filled with possibly the widest range of thinkers and feelers in the world, and yet we love through everything. Mom taught us that. As I’ve hung out with my ancestors, I’ve forgiven them for foibles, and through that, forgiven myself. I can understand my own father and mother by knowing the deep grooves laid before they were born.

I feel joyful about the opportunity ahead of me as I narrow the focus of what’s truly meaningful. I’m thrilled that the process to research these books has allowed my own journey inward – toward God and how He wants to reside within each of us. They’re all there; the demons and the power to do battle. 

I know just a few important things.

I know I love my children more than life itself, but that letting go allows them to choose to be closer to me and to God. 

I’ve journeyed through the concept of marriage enough to learn that it’s way deeper and richer when we release its inherent power by seeing our own goo (and working together to clear it out). 

I know why we are called the bride of Christ. It’s a role we all must battle within ourselves to understand, and it’s not in a building.

But that’s another post.

Thanks for hanging with me.

Love,

suzy